Letter: Adoption not shameful

In 2011, on the 43rd anniversary of leaving the Volunteers of America's nursery in New Orleans and joining the Bateman family, my parents John and Sissy Bateman joined me in support as I testified on behalf of an OBC access bill in the Louisiana Legislature.

The bill died on the senate floor.

In 2014, Louisiana has the opportunity to step out of the shadows, quit succumbing to scare tactics based on inaccurate information, biased and false stereotypes about adoption, adopted persons and our families of origin.

House Bill 1028 would provide access to adult adopted persons over the age of 25 to a non-certified copy of their government document recording their birth providing a redaction option to the less than 1 percent of parents who wish no contact.

The opposition want you to believe chaos would ensue - that abortion rates would rise, adoption rates would fall and parents who relinquished children would hide fearful of being found.

Nothing could be further from the truth as evidenced in at least 10 states that already provide access. In those states, the abortion rates do not rise. They are actually lower - below the national average in most cases.

Adoption rates didn't fall. A promise of privacy or confidentiality could not be promised or guaranteed because the original birth certificate does not get sealed at the time of relinquishment. It is sealed at the time of the adoption.

No parent who relinquishes is guaranteed that their child will be adopted and if no adoption, then no sealed record. Even current Louisiana statues refute the idea of confidentiality.

The research done by University of Baltimore Law Professor Elizabeth Samuels in the study of surrender papers says there are no mentions of privacy or confidentiality promised to the relinquishing parent - actually, it's the opposite. The relinquishing parents signs that they will not interfere or invade the privacy of the adoptive family.

In a study done by the Donaldson Adoption Institute coupled with results from access states, it's shown that less than 1 percent of parents request "no contact at this time." An overwhelming majority want to know what happened to their children and support access. In their report, "For The Records II," access was found beneficial for all involved in adoption.

Adopted persons in Louisiana deserve the same rights and equality in access to their original birth certificates and the truth of their origin as every other citizen already is granted without question.

Secrecy and silence promote shame. If there is nothing shameful about adoption or our families of origin, and how we came to be in this world and in our families, why keep adopted persons under this cloak of darkness?

Elise Bateman Lewis

Bethesda, Md.

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Letter: Adoption not shameful

In 2011, on the 43rd anniversary of leaving the Volunteers of America's nursery in New Orleans and joining the Bateman family, my parents John and Sissy Bateman joined me in support as I testified on